Chang Gung University's 'University Social Responsibility (USR) Promotion Office' held the second 'Intercollegiate USR Learning Conference' of 108th year on June 21 at the Deep Plowing Lecture Hall of the Management Building. The conference invited teachers from Kaohsiung Medical University and our school, who are implementing USR, to share their experiences and achievements. Implementing social responsibility as a university comes with its challenges and obstacles. By organizing intercollegiate USR learning conferences, we share experiences and journey, exchange field operation techniques, create value for the local community, and bring greater welfare.

       The seminar was led by Professor Chen Nanjie from Kaohsiung Medical University and Professor Lin Peixin from our University, and Commissioner Wu Yazhen from the Ministry of Education's USR Promotion Center was invited for guidance. Additionally, USR partners from universities like Health Science University, Gengxin College, Zhonghua University of Science and Technology, Xinsheng Medical College, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, and Hsuan Chuang University were present to support the event. The conference was hosted by Vice President Xu Guanghong, director of our school's USR office, who introduced the two speakers. At the end of the conference, artists Walis Harong and Milu Harong from Fuxing District shared the changes our school brought to the Fuxing District. The wonderful sharing of the speakers resonated with the participants, broadening the spread of the USR spirit, promoting a better understanding of the USR execution philosophy, and encouraging more people to engage in the practice of university social responsibility.

       In his speech, the Vice President of our university said that local diseases are mostly related to local living habits. Initially, during field visits, this issue was identified. Therefore, by inventorying the technical capabilities within the university, self-developed technologies (such as handheld ultrasound, cardiography, etc.) were introduced into the community, revealing a strong alignment between the technology developed by university teachers and societal needs. However, at the beginning of the project, due to a lack of clarity on how to engage with the field, a visit was made to Kaohsiung Medical University, which had already implemented field practice, to understand how to revitalize the local area and achieve mutual prosperity. Hence, we are very grateful to Kaohsiung Medical University for enabling us to have such a deep bond with the Fuxing District.

       Professor Chen Nanjie from Kaohsiung Medical University gave a lecture on 'Practicing University Social Responsibility Locally by Bridging with Medicine.' Professor Chen connected various interesting activity stories, keeping the participants laughing throughout. Before the USR project began, Dr. Dai Jiayan, a professor at Kaohsiung Medical University, had been working in the Namasia Indigenous Tribe for over 20 years, laying a good foundation for the university to interact with the indigenous people. It was also found that, even within the same region of Kaohsiung, there was a significant disparity in the availability of medical resources between the mountainous and flat areas. In remote areas, administering vaccines to children was a significant challenge, unlike in urban areas where it could be easily done in clinics. Professor Chen also shared her 'Humanistic Implications of Disease' course, aimed at allowing medical students to interact with patients and conduct in-depth interviews, enabling the students to treat patients with empathy. Medical students are generally good at exams, able to answer test papers calmly and adeptly, but they cannot grasp the pain of patients. Therefore, in the first class, Dr. Dai led everyone in dancing traditional dances, helping them understand the frustration of not being able to fully control their body's reactions, similar to the psychological feelings of patients in pain. Additionally, Professor Chen discussed the topic 'Is what you call health necessarily healthy for me?' She mentioned that initially, when providing medical services in remote areas, it was noticed that for the tribal residents, drinking several cups of alcohol every night was a psychological need, so they could not accept the suggestion to stop drinking. To integrate into the local community and extend the correct medical concepts, it was necessary to change the original approach, first making friends with the tribal residents, then reorganizing the observed scenes, and finding suitable ways to exert influence. Over time, the residents of the Namasia tribe have become friends with the teachers and students of Kaohsiung Medical University, and have learned the spirit of the indigenous people: 'As long as you can see the moon, don't lose hope,' encouraging each other. The teachers and students of Kaohsiung Medical University insist on long-term accompaniment of the Namasia tribal residents, being both teachers and friends, enabling students to learn outside the classroom and fostering a sense of responsibility.

▲Professor Chen Nanjie sharing field operation experiences.

      Professor Lin Peixin of our university, who is implementing the USR field practice course this year, extended the existing course 'Elderly and Long-Term Care Physical Therapy' to the Jiulu Village in Guishan District for teaching. Third and fourth-year undergraduate students from the Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science worked together to implement various aspects of this project. The Fuxing District, located in the mountainous region of Taoyuan, is home to the Atayal tribe. In this area, there are mainly seniors living alone, and the nearest health center is 30 kilometers away. Due to traffic problems, the senior citizens of Fuxing District are unable to receive medical treatment, and chronic diseases are also one of the health issues in this area. The course was extended to Fuxing District, where students visited seniors living alone in the area, conducted interviews to understand their needs, and provided physical therapy services, care, and love. In addition to assessing and implementing preventive strategies for problems such as musculoskeletal disorders, students were also responsible for the care of patients with chronic diseases. Professor Lin Peixin said, "Taking the students to do the rehabilitation work in the Fuxing District is like finding the missing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle for the students." He believed that only by combining the knowledge learned in the classroom with practical experience can the students understand the complete picture of the subject matter.

▲Professor Lin Peixin sharing his experiences and teachings.

       During the final comprehensive discussion session, artists Walis Harong and Milu Harong from Fuxing District were specially invited to share the process of their collaboration with us. Walis Harong, the former district chief secretary of Fuxing, said that many organizations had come to Fuxing District to discuss cooperation, and most of them directly asked, "Which vulnerable groups need help?", "How much money do you need?", "What materials do you need?". However, when the vice president of our university visited the Fuxing District, he said something that touched him deeply and still does: "If our students come here, how should they better interact with you? Should it start with understanding your culture?". This immediately convinced him to introduce the university's resources and technology into the school. If there is no understanding of the field, rushing to invest in physical materials will not lead to sustainable cooperation with the local area. It should start by understanding local culture and stories, building more trust and emotion, to achieve sustainable operation. For example, in mid-April, Professor Liu Yingjie of our university led students to the Fuxing District for indigenous culture recognition and exploration, and organized a gift design competition, inviting local artists Walis Harong and Milu Harong to be the judges. During this event, new ideas and traditional thinking collided to create new sparks. Both sides made friends through art. For the artists of Fuxing District, the students' novel and unrestricted ideas provided more creative inspiration; for the students, it was an opportunity to reacquaint themselves with indigenous culture and understand the meaning of Atayal art lines and colors. Both sides learned from each other and benefited a lot.

▲Artists Walis Harong and Milu Harong from Fuxing District

       The event ended successfully, but community issues still need to be improved with the help of teachers from various fields. We encourage more interdisciplinary teaching cooperation, which can not only enable students to learn diversely but also effectively solve local problems. The Ministry of Education is now committed to promoting universities and colleges to offer USR field practice courses, leading students out of the campus to see community and social issues, returning to school to discuss how to improve community life through professional knowledge and technology, and promote interdisciplinary cooperation, allowing campus professionals to maximize their value, and also increasing students' learning motivation and opportunities for diverse learning. Leave the campus, enter the community, observe more practically, experience more heartfeltly, and hope that more teachers and students can participate in the practice of university social responsibility. Community issues await our joint resolution, and together we can maximize the value of what we have learned.